Fireproof curtain.



Nb. 782,534. PATENTED FEB. 14, 1905. D. W. ADAMS.

FIRBPROOP CURTAIN.

APPLICATION PILE'I) JULY 18, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATE-NTED'FEB. 14, 1905.-

D. W. ADAMS.

FIREPROOF- CURTAIN. APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1904.

2 sums-sum 2.

15-2621 ess es w -1a 52m;

V UNITED STATES Patented February 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

FIREPROOF CURTAIN.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 782,534, dated February14, 1905.

Application filed July 18, 1904:. Serial N0- 216,987.

1'0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID W. ADAMs, acitizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Fireproof Curtains, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a fireproof curtain adapted to be applied tothe door or window of a building or the sides of an elevator-shaft forpreventing the spreading of a fire from one room or floor to another orfrom one building to another, and more particularly to curtains of thisclass which are composed of a number of overlapping horizontal slatscapable of sliding upon one another and adapted to be normally held upnear the ceiling and to be lowered in case'of fire. A curtain of thischaracter is shown and described in Letters Patent of the United StatesNo. 519,990, granted May 15, 1894, to E. F. Clark.

The principal object of my invention is t improve the construction ofsuch curtains with a view of rendering them lighter, stronger,

and more durable, relieving the connectingbolts of the slats from unduestrains, and insuring the easy sliding of the slats upon one another.

A further object is to provide the curtain with simple and reliablemeans for automatically releasing and lowering it in case of a fire onthe premises. 7

In the accompanying drawings,consisting of two sheets, Figure 1 is aface view of my improved curtain applied to a doorway and showing thesame lowered. Fig. 2 is a transverse central section thereof. Fig. 3 isan enlarged transverse section of the upper portion of the doorway andthe curtain, showing the latter locked in its raised position. Fig. i isa detached face view of one of the slottedguidestrips of the slats. Fig.5 is a fragmentary transverse section, on an enlarged scale, of a pairof adjoining slats, the plane of the section being through one of theconnecting-bolts. Fig. 6 is a similar section taken at a point betweenadjacent guide-strips and bolts of the slats. Fig. 7 is a fragmentaryhorizontal section, on an enlarged scale, in line 7 7, Fig. 5.

slides in being raised and lowered. The curtain is composed of a seriesof overlapping transverse slats C O of fireproof material. Comparativelythin sheet metal is preferred for this purpose; but asbestos or othersuitable material may be employed, if desired. The uppermost slat 0forms a support for the remaining portion of the curtain and is rigidlysecured to the top of the doorway. Each of the remaining slats C isconnected to the slat immediately above itby a number of transversebolts d, projecting rearwardly from its upper edge and sliding,respectively, in vertically-slotted guide-strips E, riveted or otherwisesecured to the slat next above it. In the preferred construction shownin the drawings the central portion of each guide-strip E,

which contains the slot e,is raised or channeled, and the slot isnarrower than this raised portion, so as to form practically an undercutgroove, which receives the head of the corresponding connecting-bolt d,as best shown in Figs. 5 and 7. The bolt-head is inserted through anenlargement 6, formed at the upper end of the slot 6, as shown in Fig.4:, and when the several slats are assembled the enlargement of eachguide-slot is closed by thenut cl of the bolt secured to, the same slat,thereby confining the bolts of the slat next below in their guide-slots.The heads of these bolts preferably bear against sheet-metalbackingstrips f, interposed between the guide-strips and the slats, asshown in Figs. 5 and 7, so as to stiffen the slats and cause the boltsto slide smoothly in the guide-strips. These backingstrips may, however,be omitted, if desired, and the heads of the bolts allowed to beardirectlyagainst the faces of the slats.

Each slat, except the lowermost one, is provided on its front side at ornear its lower edge with a stop, bar, or cleat g, which is riveted orotherwise secured thereto, and each slat, except the uppermoststationary one, G,

is also provided on its rear side at or near its upper edge with asimilar cleat or stop-bar it. Each of these cleats consists ofintermediate sections of sufiicient length to fit between adjacentguide-strips E of the slats and end sections of the proper length toextend from the outer guide-strips to the outer edges of thecurtain-slat s, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the curtainislowered, the upper rear stop-cleat h of each slat encounters the lowerfront stop-cleat g of the slat next above it and rests thereon, as shownin Fig. 6, thereby bringing the weight of the curtain and the shock orimpact incident to the descent of its slats principally or entirely uponthese cleats instead of upon the connecting bolts and avoiding bendingor breakage of the bolts. The latter thus serve principally to connectthe slats and hold them in their proper relative positions, and bindingof the slats, which results when the bolts become bent, is efiectuallyprevented. The contiguous stop-cleats also form close joints between theslats when the curtain is lowered, rendering the curtain practicallytight and solid and preventing the passage of smoke and fire through thesame. In order to perform this additional function, the thickness of thestop-cleats should be substantially equal to that of the raised portionsof the slotted strips E, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. To form still morereliable smoke and fireproof joints, the slats are preferably rolled andwired at their upper and lower edges, as best shown ate in Figs. 5 and6, thus forming enlargements which close the joints between the slatsand their lower cleats h. These rolled edges and the cleats, guidestripsE, and backing-strips f also greatly reinforce and stiffen the slats,permitting comparatively light stock to be used in the construction ofthe curtain. By forming the guide-slots e in separate raised stripssecured to the faces of the slats the latter are left intact and at thesame time strengthened by the strips. These stripscan be cheaply stampedof sheet metal.

The lateral guideways B of the curtain are preferably narrowed ortapered toward their lower ends to correspond to thegradually-decreasing thickness of the curtain as its slats aresuccessively lowered or extended, by which construction the lowerportion of the curtain, as well as its upper portion, is prevented fromswinging out of place. In the construction illustrated in the drawingsthe front and rear walls of the guideways B are parallel, and an obliquestrip or false wall J of the proper inclination is arranged in eachguideway and suitably fastened in place therein, as shown in Fig. 2.

Any suitable means may be employed for raising and lowering the curtain.The mechanism illustrated in the drawings consists of a horizontal shaftK, arranged above the curtain and carrying grooved drums 7c, elevatingfirst elevated, the same sliding upon the next slat until itsconnecting-bolts d strike the upper ends of the guide-slots a in thelast-named slat, whenthe latter is likewise elevated until its boltsstrike the upper ends of the guideslots 0 in the third slat from thebottom of the curtain and elevate said slat, and so on until allof theslats are raised andstacked, as shown in Fig. 3.

The curtain may be held up'by any suitable means-for instance, by adetent device of any well-known construction applied to the crank-shaft;but this is preferably accomplished by a suitable retaining device,which automatically releases the curtain and allows it to descend bygravity when the temperature in the vicinity of the curtain rises abovea predetermined normal. The preferred means shown in the drawingsconsist of a verticallyswinging elbow-lever N, pivoted at n to astationary frame or support N and interlocking with a nose or projection0, arranged on the face of the lowermost slat in the raised position ofthe curtain, as shown in Fig. 3.

The depending long arm of this locking-lever is connected with the top Aof the doorway or other stationary member by a wire p, containing afusible link 0, so that when this link is fused by an abnormaltemperature the lever N is released and the nose 0, under the weight ofthe curtain, deflects and clears the upper short arm of the lever,allowing the curtain to descend and closing the doorway. The upper sideof the nose 0 is beveled to permit the same to ride over the short armof the retaining-lever in raising the curtain. As shown in the drawings,the fusible connection 9 preferably extends across the lower edge of thecurtain, so as to be exposed to a fire in either of the rooms connectedby the doorway.

A covering-plate Q, is preferably extended across the top of the doorwayin front of the stationary upper slat C and the frame N so as to concealthe curtain when elevated, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This plate has avertical slot q, which receives the lockinglever l.

I claim as my invention" 1. A fireproof curtain composed of a series ofslats provided on one side with strips having raised portions containingguid e-slots, and on their opposite sides with projections which engagewith the slotted strips of an adjoining slat, substantially as setforth.

2. A fireproof curtain composed of a series of slats, each of whichexcept the lowermost one is provided on its front side with separatestrips having raised portions containing guideslots, and each of whichslats, except the uppermost one, is provided on its rear side with boltswhich interlock with the slotted strips of the slat next above it,substantially as set forth. j 3. A hreproof curtain comprising a serlesof slats provided on one side with separate strips having raisedportions containing guideslots, and on their opposite sides withprojections which engage with the slotted strips of an adjoining slat,and backing-strips interposedbetween the slats and said slotted strips,substantially as set forth.

4. A fireproof curtain composed of a series of slats provided on oneside with strips having raised portions containing guide-slots, and ontheir opposite sides with bolts which engage with said slotted strips,said slots having enlargements at their upper ends and the nuts of thebolts being seated in the enlargements, substantially as set forth.

5. A fireproof curtain composed of slats provided with guide slots andprojections which engage with the slots of an adjoining slat. andcooperating stops applied to adjoining slats and arranged to limit thedescent of the slats on one another for relieving said projections fromshocks and strains, substantially as set forth.

6. A fireproof curtain composed of slats having guide-slots andprojections which engage with the slots of an adjoining slat, the

slats being provided on their front sides near their lower edges withstop-cleats, and on their rear sides near their upper edges with similarcleats adapted to rest upon the lower cleats of the adjoiningslatsfsubstantially as set forth.

7 A fireproof curtain composed of a series of slats provided on one sidewith strips having raised portions containing guide-slots, and on theiropposite sides with headed projections which engage with the slottedstrips of an adjoining slat, the slats being also provided on theirfront and rear sides near their upper and lower edges respectively withstop-cleats of the same thickness as theraised portions of said slottedstrips, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with a fireproof curtain composed of connected,overlapping slats capable of sliding on one another, the lowermost slatof the series having a projection, of an elbow-lever having its upperarm arranged to interlock with said projection, and retaining meansconnected with the lower arm of said lever, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 13th day of July,

DAVID W. ADAMS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES F. ADAMS,

O. F. GEYEB.

